UCLA Fowler Museum to Repatriate 20 Sacred Polynesian Artifacts
Published Date: 12/17/2025
Notice
Summary
The Fowler Museum at UCLA plans to return 20 sacred Hawaiian and Polynesian cultural items, like daggers and poi pounders, to Native Hawaiian groups starting January 16, 2026. These items were gifted to the museum in the 1960s and are now being respectfully sent back to their rightful communities. This repatriation honors Native traditions and strengthens cultural connections without any cost to the public.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Return of 20 Sacred Hawaiian Items
The Fowler Museum at UCLA intends to return 20 sacred Hawaiian and Polynesian cultural items (including daggers, poi pounders, spears, bowling stones, sling stones, and a shark-tooth weapon) to Native Hawaiian groups beginning on or after January 16, 2026. The museum says these items are specific ceremonial objects needed for present-day traditional Native religious practice and the repatriation honors Native traditions without any cost to the public.
How to Request Repatriation
Any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization not named in this notice may submit a written request for repatriation showing by a preponderance of the evidence that they are a lineal descendant or culturally affiliated. Send requests to Allison Fischer-Olson, Fowler Museum at UCLA, Box 951549, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1549, or email [email protected]; repatriation may occur on or after January 16, 2026, and the museum must decide among competing requests (joint requests count as a single request).
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